Void

Directed by Stanley Roubaix

2022

AUP Films

“It was a dark and stormy night…” or so says the beginning of many a horror story and so it goes with Void, a new scary short from filmmaker Stanley Roubaix.

The sound of rainfall and thunder opens the film as we see candles and a crucifix in an unknown location.

A woman (Betty Anyika) enters the home and with police tape and a white outline on the floor, we are shown that a murder has taken place here. As she enters, she apologises for her intrusion to the empty room and we discover she needs to eat and seek shelter.

Dishevelled and carrying a sleeping bag, the homeless woman illegally settles in but is clearly looking for a place of safe refuge rather than anything nefarious. She lights a candle, sits at a table and begins to get warm and compose herself.

The filmmaker uses the silence of the house to good effect. Only the lighting of candles creates any sort of noise which focuses the audience on this important act.

Yet as our protagonist lights multiple matches, an unknown entity blows them out and throws the room into darkness.

Shot in Chesterfield in Derbyshire, this local horror gets the basics right with good lighting and a story that relies more on what we see and hear rather than dialogue.

The slow process of candle lighting adds significance too. This semi-religious act allows for some well-thought out and executed visuals which give further ambience to the scenes.

Symbolically, candles have often represented a link that taps into our past. They can radiate feelings of spirituality and mystery and here they are used to both give comfort to our lead but could also be seen to act as a grieving vigil - given the gruesome murder shown at the start.

As the house begins to be illuminated in more and more candles, tension rises but as they are blown out one by one we are drawn into this strange situation as we focus on the scared face of the petrified woman.

The short finishes on a mysterious – but for me, a bit unresolved – conclusion which is a shame as the concept is great. Sadly, it doesn’t have a lot to say really, with the ending being a short, sharp horror cliché rather than exploring the interesting secrets it initially sets up.

That said, Void is solid across the board and has an ‘aura’ of intrigue whilst delivering its low-budget horror beats without fuss. It touches upon some more artistry than some low-budget films in the same genre – especially in the lighting department – and is a mostly-satisfying spooky short whose symbolic meaning goes beyond its surface level story and hackneyed ending.

★★★☆☆

Michael Sales